In the theories of basic psychology, the effects that the presence or actions of others have on a subject are considered when it comes to understanding motivated behaviors. If you want to discover or know more about the Explanatory Models of Motivation: Social Motivation, we invite you to read the following Psychology-Online article.
Coercion and hearing: refers to the motivating influence that the presence of others has on a subject. Zajonc (1972) states that there is an increase in activation and performance when the subject competes against other subjects in the same task. This is known as duress effect. The same happens when the subject knows that he is being observed by others, audience effect. However, the presence of others can also have negative effects on the behavior of the subject, having to do with the skill of the same.
Dissemination of responsibility (Latané and Darley, 1970). The fact that there are several subjects in a situation in which the helping behavior is required blurs the motivation to carry out said behavior. It highlights the fact that the motivation for helping behavior involves two complementary processes and interrelated: on the one hand, a subject must be able to feel empathy for / with whom he needs help; on the other hand, a subject must be able to act based on that empathy. Variables to take into account responsibility attributed to the person attended (the greater the responsibility for the situation, because drunk, etc, less likely to get help), age of person in need of help, number of people found present.
Conformity (Asch, 1952). The answers of others, although wrong, can modify the behavior of a subject even if he is convinced that his own alternative is the correct one. The modification of the response of a subject is oriented in the direction of the responses of the majority. The change in response can occur as a consequence of one of the following three factors:
- perceptual distortion: some subjects perceive the response of the majority as incorrect, therefore, to adjust to the response of others, they distort their own perception,
- distortion of judgment: the subjects are aware that the judgment they make is different from that made by the group, if they conform to the group it is because they assume that the group's judgment is correct,
- action distortion: the subjects do not necessarily assume that the group's response is correct, there is no distortion of judgment or perception, but they do not want to give a different answer. Asch finds that the presence of others produces a motivational state in the subject that prompts him to conform to the group's response. The motivational state has its origin in the pressure exerted by the group on the subject; occurs when there are at least two people present in addition to the subject.
Obedience. Zimbardo (1969) and Milgram (1975) they emphasize that obedience can be considered a form of conformity, while the subject who must obey thinks that the majority carry out the behavior that is required of him. Compliance Obedience Type of influence implicit explicit Source peer pressure a subject Status subject influential similar superior.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
